Shrewsbury Town boss Sam Ricketts on hunt for non-league gems
Boss Sam Ricketts insists he will not hesitate to bring more non-league players to Shrewsbury after the success of Fejiri Okenabirhie and Ollie Norburn.
Okenabirhie and Norburn were two of Town’s star players last season after joining from Dagenham & Redbridge and Tranmere Rovers respectively.
Okenabirhie was the top scorer with 16 goals while Norburn pulled the strings in midfield. Ricketts has already added to his squad, bringing in striker Daniel Udoh from AFC Telford United.
“I’ve not got a problem with bringing players in from that level at all,” said Ricketts.
“It wasn’t just Fejiri, Ollie came from that level (the National League), and they’re just two.
“There’s been more that have come up and done very well, so there are certainly players capable of stepping up levels, from League Two into this league as well.
“Players develop at different times and find themselves at different levels of football, but you’re always looking for players on the up, on the rise and try to catch them on the up.”
Udoh, 22, struck 26 times for the National League North Bucks last campaign and is good friends with Okenabirhie.
Town have snapped him up on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Udoh is not a player with a wealth of Football League experience, only playing a handful of times for Crewe before they released him last summer, but Ricketts is going for potential over popularity.
“At one stage nobody knew any player,” he added. “There was a point that nobody knew who Lionel Messi was in the extreme.
“But you’re trying to get players on the up, coming through.
“The same as Jamie Vardy coming through, nobody knew who he was when he first broke through. Players develop all the time.”
Shrewsbury also signed winger Abo Eisa from a non-league club – National League South side Wealdstone.
Eisa arrived at Montgomery Waters Meadow in January 2018 and spent the second half of last season on loan at Colchester United in League Two, after a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
His Salop deal runs until the summer of 2020 with the option of a further year, and he is thought to be in Ricketts’s long-term plans.
